Crucible Curse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Crucible Curse is a phrase widely used in professional snooker.[1][2][3]
The term refers to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, venue of the World Snooker Championship since 1977, and the fact that no first-time champion has ever successfully defended his title there the following year, hence the "curse".
Of the seventeen players to have won the championship at the Crucible Theatre, five lost in their first match as defending champion (John Spencer in 1978, Terry Griffiths in 1980, Steve Davis in 1982, Dennis Taylor in 1986 and Graeme Dott in 2007) and only two have reached the final: Joe Johnson in 1987 and Ken Doherty in 1998.
[edit] The curse
| Year | Defending Champion | Progress | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | John Spencer | First Round | 8-13 vs Perrie Mans |
| 1979 | Ray Reardon | Quarter-finals | 8-13 vs Dennis Taylor |
| 1980 | Terry Griffiths | Second Round[4] | 10-13 vs Steve Davis |
| 1981 | Cliff Thorburn | Semi-finals | 10-16 vs Steve Davis |
| 1982 | Steve Davis | First Round | 1-10 vs Tony Knowles |
| 1983 | Alex Higgins | Semi-finals | 5-16 vs Steve Davis |
| 1986 | Dennis Taylor | First Round | 6-10 vs Mike Hallett |
| 1987 | Joe Johnson | Final | 14-18 vs Steve Davis |
| 1991 | Stephen Hendry | Quarter-finals | 11-13 vs Steve James |
| 1992 | John Parrott | Quarter-finals | 12-13 vs Alan McManus |
| 1998 | Ken Doherty | Final | 12-18 vs John Higgins |
| 1999 | John Higgins | Semi-finals | 10-17 vs Mark Williams |
| 2001 | Mark Williams | Second Round | 12-13 vs Joe Swail |
| 2002 | Ronnie O'Sullivan | Semi-finals | 13-17 vs Stephen Hendry |
| 2003 | Peter Ebdon | Quarter-finals | 12-13 vs Paul Hunter |
| 2006 | Shaun Murphy | Quarter-finals | 7-13 vs Peter Ebdon |
| 2007 | Graeme Dott | First Round | 7-10 vs Ian McCulloch |
[edit] Pre-Crucible
Even before the world championship was staged at the Crucible, no player in the modern game successfully defended the title after winning his first championship.
Only Joe Davis, his brother Fred and John Pulman have accomplished the feat. Joe in 1928, Fred in 1949 and Pulman during his challenge match in 1964 prior to 1969.
| Year | Defending Champion | Progress | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | John Spencer | Semi-finals | 33-37 vs Ray Reardon |
| 1971 | Ray Reardon | Semi-finals | 15-34 vs John Spencer |
| 1973 | Alex Higgins | Semi-finals | 9-23 vs Eddie Charlton |
[edit] Notes
- ^ John Dee. "Murphy aiming to exorcise the Crucible curse", The Daily Telegraph, 2006-04-14. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
- ^ "Cruise for Ebdon as Crucible curse strikes champ", nationalmultimedia.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
- ^ "Crucible Curse Strikes Ebdon", Sporting Life. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
- ^ Griffiths, along with the other top 8 seeds, received a bye for the opening round. The Second Round was thus his first match.
| World Snooker Championship |
|---|
| The early years |
| 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 |
| Post-War to decline |
| 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 |
| Challenge Matches |
| 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1968 |
| The modern era pre-Crucible |
| 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 |
| The Crucible Theatre |
| 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Winners and statistics |
| List of winners from 1927 to present |
